in favor, 138. opposed, 9. abstentions, 41. >> status upgrade. palestinians win new rights

raising questions about the future of the middle east process. palestinians are celebrating a decision that's symbolic and significant. they voted to upgrade their status to nonmember observer state. that means palestinians have gained more powers but u.s. and isiseli leaders argue it throws up more barriers on the road to peace. >> reporter: it was a historic day for palestinians. before the vote palestinians president made his last plea to gain the support of delegation from u.n. member states. >> translator: i am hoping everyone's decision will give a birth certificate to the state

of palestine. >> the assembly voted on a resolution to award palstines nonmember state. >> the result of the voting is as follows. in favor, 138. opposed, 9. abstentions, 41. >> reporter: an overwhelming majority voted in favor. among the minority who voted against resolution were israel and the united states. they argue that the palestine

state hood should be negotiated between the two parties first. thursday's vote was a significant victory for the palestinians after their bid to gain full u.n. membership was shelved in the security council. being recognized as a state pal stain my exercise its new right to investigate alleged war crimes by israel. critics say it would the detrimental. it remains to be seen whether the new status will help achieve its dream of independence. car bomb explosions rock two cities in central iraq killing 35 people and injuring more than 150. police suspect the attacks are

spreading sectarian strife. two womans explode ebombs explo minutes apart. the blast killed 27 people and injured more than 130. another car bomb left eight people dead and more than 20 bounded. police suspect sunnie treextrems are targeting neighborhoods. concerns are growing that the unstable security situation may affect the plans of foreign companies doing business in the oil producing country. representatives of countries try to put the squeeze on the syrian government are gathering in tokyo. they are taking part in an international conference to discuss strengthening sanctions. japanese officials say the aim is to get assad to stop the violence against his own people.

delegates from more than 60 countries are attended the conference. they include representatives from the gulf region and the west. it's the first meeting of its kind in asia. a spokesperson for the syrian national coalition talked to nhk in egypt ahead of the conference. it was called for nations to work together. >> we need more than that. we have two ways. putting pressure on russia, china and iran to stop supporting this regime and that's what will be useful or supporting military. or make free zone and no fly zone. >> the japanese government has frozen assets held in japan by assad. it took the action last year.

a court in south korea is dealing with a legal matter. it's will decide whether to extradite a chinese national to japan for starting a fire. the site honors japan's war dead including war criminals. tokyo police suspect a fire was set to the gate last december. he already served a ten month pri prison term for throwing four fire bombs at the embassy. officials in china want him sent home for humanitarian reasons. they say he suffers from mental illness. he said he started shrine fire

because he was trying to correct their views. he wants to be sent back to china because he says he will not get a fair trial. prosecutors says he does not meet the definition of a political offender. the court has put off its decision until defense witnesses testify in two more rounds of hearings. americans are trying to avoid a winter of discontent by steering clear of the fiscal cliff. they are getting a boost from numbers that show they had a busy number. >> lots of numbers for you this morning. let's start with u.s. gdp. it's been revised upwards. commerce department officials say the economy for the july to september quarter dp eer grew a

annualized 2.7%. exports were revised to mark an increase of 1.1%. earlier predictions headed for fall of 1.6%. housing investment was revised slightly down toward to 14.2% but maintain strong growth. consu consumer spending was revised down 0.6 points to a growth rate of 1.4%. overall gdp mark significant growth but uncertainty remains. consumption is growing. there is the fiscal cliff to consider. now let's turn to japan. the jobless rate in october remained flat compared to the previous month. the internal affairs ministry

said unemployment stayed at 4 4.2%. officials at the labor ministry say the ratio of job vacancies to seekers declined. it says 80 positions were open for every 100 job seekers. the industrial output posted an increase in october for the first time in four months. the index stood at 88.1 against a reference value of 1205. this was due to increases in the electronic parts and devices industry as well add the fabricated metal sector. now let's get a check on markets. japanese prices are trading in a modest range. the nikkei is at 9,427.

investors are placing buy orders after the dow jones industrial average recovered to the 13,000 level. there's some profit taking here in tokyo following the recent events. let's take a look at the currency markets. the dollar is trading in a narrow range this friday morning. market sources say traders are refraining from aggressive moves as they wait to confirm the outlook for any u.s. fiscal woes. the euro is trading at 106.51 to 6. in other markets we're seeing unchanged moves in seoul. 1,934 at the moment. an nhk survey shows that half

the electronic and automakers have given a groomy employment outlook. keeping the present number of workers on the payroll have become difficult or will be tough. all the 30 companies from six main industries responded to the survey conducted this month. they involve autos, automotive parts, electrical machinery, semiconductors and electronic parts. six of the firms have cut domestic work force since last fiscal year or since april 2011 under their early retirement programs. panasonic did not disclose the number of laid off workers but 17,000 people have been let go. six firms said they are already finding it difficult to maintain

their work force. nhk also asked these companies what steps would be needed to retain their work force? many urged the government to take measures to stem the yen. most nuclear power plants are not operating and that pushes up electricity charges. the european union has give tennessee green light to start trade talks with japan. nhk has the details. sdplp trade ministers agree that they will start talks with japan. they made a decision at their decision on thursday. the talks between the eu and japan are now expected to get under way early next year. if the deal is concluded it will create a massive free trade

block. the economy will account for more than one-third of the global gross domestic product. some members are still cautious about the plan. they claim ja nan is not doing enough to remove tariff barriers. others such as france and italy are concerned about the japanese vehicles. in response to these objections the european commission has included the clause in its basic policy that the eu could break off the top any time. that japan is not doing enough to open up its market a year after the talks get started. eu trade commissioner made clear that he will keep a tough stance during negotiations. >> let's not be anxious.

europe is not naive. >> reporter: he wants to expand trade in an attempt to overcome the euro zone debt crisis. many members are hopeful about the free trade pact with japan. the talks may face raw growing due to wide differences of opinion. >> that wraps up this for this hour. i'll leave you with a check on market figures.

police fired water cannons and tear gas at hundreds of villagers and buddhist monks. the protesters say residents are being forcibly displaced. they say the mining operations are damaging the environment. the protests were unauthorize and the crackdown was carried out according to to international standards. the country's opposition leader visited the area on thursday evening. she called for a solution

through dialogue. government officials said during an inspection of the mine last week that if operations come to a stop china could be angered. disputing centering on the south china sea has caused political and economic repercussions. the philippine government says it will not stop visas. >> reporter: around 20 activists gather in manila on thursday to denounce china's latest move. this is the new passport design the chinese government has been issuing since may. the philippine government filed a protest with china over a map

printed inside which includes islands claimed by both countries. on wednesday the philippine department of foreign affairs announced it will no longer issue visa stamps in the passports. >> we're saying that's fine. you can come into the philippines but we he not stamp the passport. we will stamp a separate application, visa application form. >> reporter: the redesign is sparking backlash in other neighboring countries. vietnam has been taking similar steps as the philippines and india is taking counter measures. >> translator: don't read too much into the new design. we'll discuss this matter with related countries so people can

cross borders freely. >> reporter: for the philippines and other countries it's difficult not to see the change as a china's two intentions especially as the countries making moves to get control over the south china sea. in july china formed a new body that governs the disputed islands in the south china sea. the new ordinance underpins the central government's hard line strategy. china's to leadership changed hands this month and the new

regime is showing no sign of easing its tough stance on issues involving the philippines and other neighbors. more low cost airlines began operating this year out of japan's airport. to succeed they have to overcome a serious problem. pil >> reporter: pilot training by a low cost company. it costs more than $1.2 million to train a pilot so budget airlines try to cut costs by hiring pilots already licensed. to expand their services low cost carriers need to hire more pilots but finding ones with a

license is hard. >> translator: we have a minimum requirement for the number of pilots so we need a few plan to hire more. if we are to accomplish our business plan hiring is a priority. >> reporter: while executives see this as a challenge, others consider it a potential opportunity. pilot trainees learn the rope at a private school north of tokyo. this year the number of students doubled to 50 from last year. he trained in the u.s. previously. there were more jobs and the training was 75% cheaper than in job but he learned that more budget airlines were setting up in japan and looking for pilots.

>> translator: my desire to contribute to japan's aviation industry grew stronger so i wanted to be a pilot in japan. >> reporter: he's qualified to pilot commercial airplanes up to a certain size in the u.s. but not in japan. he had to start training all over again start ing in a propeller driven aircraft. for these lessons he mays more than $125,000. many trainees have foreign licenses but in japan they too had to start from scratch. >> translator: i think you have to be really motivated to continue with this training. >> reporter: that's because getting a pilots license in japan is hard. no other country has such tough

standards. candidates need detailed knowledge even of aircraft parts. airlines the world over use the same of planes so some experts say licenses issued in other countries should be valid here. the land and transport ministry hears from airlines even the major ones. the companies have been asking for looser regulations. they say it's to help deal with the pilot shortage. the ministry has started making deals with other countries like the u.s. and canada. airlines are allowed to hire pilots with overseas licenses once safety standards are confirmed. >> translator: before signing an agreement we always check the other country's regulations. we want to know if they are as strict as japan or stricter.

by doing this i think safety will be guaranteed. >> reporter: as more low cost airlines take to the skies over japan, more pilots are needed. easing regulations ensures enough flights to meet demand and safety standards. t the. stormy conditions in northern japan are affecting people there. >> northern japan has been battered with storms after another. another low pressure system has developed over sea of japan. you can see the rain clouds covering much of the country in the northern half about 5,000

people without power at the moment are going to be suffering another very chilly night. across much of the western flank of japan precipitation will be turning down towards the west. you may probably see the first snow of this season. it's a bit earlier than average for tomorrow. the precipitation will be likely into the weekend. it's going to be a wet and windy one for us. across much of south eastern china also very wet. 5200 millimeters will be additionally falling over some portions of south eastern china. things turn to white. even in beijing a light snow could cover the city. temperature wise we're looking at 12 degrees here in tokyo on the chillier side. nothing compared to this.

minus 16 biting the cold out there but staying in the 30s here in the tropics and bangkok 32. moving over to the american continent let's talk about the pacific continent moving in. all these storms will be lining up for the weekend. northern california and southern oregon you can see this very pink patch moving along the region. 150 additional millimeters of rainfall will be possible. that's enough capable of producing flash floods and further land slides. also heavy snow will be piling up in the cascades and the canadian rockies. snowfall amounts could be about 50 centimeters. also gusty conditions. gusts of about 100 kilometers per hour. it's going to bring you blizzard conditions, very low visibility across your area.

new york dipping down into the single digits. winnipeg at minus 3. moving over to the european continent. really rough weather impacts the western portions. let's take a look at a video from france. frigid air has been blanketing central and western parts of europe creating this heavy snowfall. about 40 centimeters have piled up causing hazardous traveling conditions. more than 6,000 households were without power on wednesday. the majority has been restored as the weather condition improved on thursday. what's going to happen for the weekend? let's pull back and show you. it's not going to be tapering off too much. western austria will have the heaviest snow. this system still lingers. it really likes to sit over the

area bringing unstable conditions. london really chilly. icy patches are on the way at 4 degrees for your high. here is your extended forecast.

>> that wraps up this edition of "newsline." thanks for joining us.